Salvia spp. como aditivo promotor de crecimiento en dietas de conejos destetados

The objective was to evaluated the effect of two species of Salvia (Salvia lavandulifolia and S. officinalis) as additive in weaning rabbits feeding. There were use 45 white New Zealand rabbits 30 days old, distributed in three treatments: without additive, inclusion of 1 % S. lavandulifolia or S. officinalis in the diet. The content of the essential oil in samples of Salvia was characterized by means of gaseous chromatography previously dried of plants at 60°C. There were presence of camphor (19.53 and 21.30 %) and thujone (19.39 and 17.76 %), respectively, as the principal components of the studied varieties. The live final weight (2000 vs 2212 and 2094 g/rabbit) and the average daily gain (26.64 vs 30.24 and 27.63 g/rabbit/day) were higher with the use of lavandulifolia. There were 93 % of viability in the animals fed with Salvia, in the control group was 80 %. The results confirm that the inclusion of the Salvia as additive improve the growth of the rabbits. In addition, there was presence of the principal active components of the essential oil of the Salvia, which exerting beneficial effects in the health and the productive behavior. There is recommended the use of this fragrant plant as a promoter of the growth in fattening rabbits.